Muriel Agnes Yewdale (née Fraser) (1908–2000) was a 20th-century Canadian artist. Born in

Grand Rapids, Manitoba Grand Rapids is a town in Manitoba, Canada, on the northwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg where the Saskatchewan River enters the lake. As the name implies, the river had a significant drop at this point (more than in less than ). In modern days, ...

, in 1908, Yewdale grew up in northern Manitoba before attending a private school in

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. In 1929, she married Harry Yewdale. In 1930, they moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and fifteen years later relocated to

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

. She attended the

Vancouver School of Art Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co-e ...

between 1957 and 1961. One of her teachers was

Jack Shadbolt Jack Leonard Shadbolt, (February 4, 1909 November 22, 1998) was a Canadian painter. Early life Born in Shoeburyness, England, Shadbolt came to Canada with his parents in April 1911. He was raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied at t ...

, and she remained friends with him and his wife,

Doris Shadbolt Doris Shadbolt, née Meisel LL. D. D.F.A. (November 28, 1918 – December 22, 2003) was an art historian, author, curator, cultural bureaucrat, educator and philanthropist who had an important impact on the development of Canadian art and cult ...

. She graduated from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(1963–1965) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Yewdale didn't start painting until she was 48 years old. She suffered tragedy in her life, as her son died in 1972, her husband in 1974, and her daughter in 1989. Yewdale's early work was sometimes abstract. Her home was surrounded by forest in the 1950s and 1960s, and her paintings often featured trees and aspects of a nearby creek or bog. The forest was eventually cut down for development, and so she painted its destruction as well. Earlier works were concerned with accurate representation, while later paintings recorded events, often in series. Yewdale's painting technique utilized brushstrokes similar to those of the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

, with her colours unmixed on the palette. She preferred to paint ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'', giving herself three hours to complete each large canvas. In addition to landscapes and abstracts, she also produced

still-lifes A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

. Furthermore, besides oil paintings, her output encompassed drawings, watercolours, ink, pastels, mosaics, and sculptures. Her work was rarely shown during her active painting career, which lasted from the late 1950s to around the mid-1970s. Infrequent displays included the British Columbia Artists' annual exhibitions at the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

in 1961 and 1966. Other venues were the local University Women's Club, and most notably, at the Ceperly Art Gallery in Burnaby in 1999, shortly before her death. Yewdale's paintings passed to her grandson, Jase Maxwell, who exhibited some of her artwork in 2006 at North Vancouver. An exhibition catalogue of her work, ''Hidden Forest: The Art of M. A. Yewdale'' was published by the Burnaby Art Gallery in 1999.

References

External links

M. A. Yewdale
Artist's official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Yewdale, M.A. 1908 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Canadian painters Artists from Manitoba People from Northern Region, Manitoba Emily Carr University of Art and Design alumni University of British Columbia alumni 20th-century Canadian women artists